PEMBROKE & Monkton Local History Society’s fledgling publishing company received a significant boost recently with the launch of its second book From Mummer’s Booth to Silver Screen: the Life and Times of the Haggar Family.

The story begins with William Haggar, a pioneer of the early cinema in Wales, who achieved international success with his ground-breaking moving pictures. His large family were all involved in the business and were stars of his films.

Haggar’s travelling cinema, or bioscope, was a regular feature in Pembroke Fair until William opened his chain of permanent family run cinemas.

The book focuses on one Haggar cinema, established by Will Haggar Jnr and his wife Jenny Linden in Pembroke in 1931.

Ownership passed to his brother Walter, whose son Leonard made Haggar’s Cinema and Ballroom a popular and much-loved Pembroke venue.

Written by William’s great granddaughter, Vicki Haggar, and including previously unpublished essays by her grandfather Walter and brothers Roy and Tony, the book follows the fortunes of her family through four successive generations. It spans a century in the entertainment business; from Victorian travelling theatre to fairground bioscope, through cinema’s golden age to eventual decline and the closing of the Pembroke Cinema, the last of the Haggar Cinemas, in 1984.

For many this will be a nostalgic walk down memory lane but could well prove a 'must read' for anyone interested in the history of cinema in this country.

Vicki’s sister Sue Rees said: “This is a wonderful book. It is a privilege to have something written about your family and we are delighted that Vicki has managed to gather everything together. But it is also important in the history of entertainment in Wales, particularly now that they are making films in Wales again. And it is also important to appreciate that he made films locally. The Charles Peace film about the notorious Victorian burglar and murderer, for example, was shot in Pembroke Dock.”

The Book Launch took place on Friday, November 18 before a large audience at Pembroke Town Hall, and as a special feature included the film A Penny for Your Dreams; a film biography of William Haggar, by kind permission of BBC Wales.

“This is our second major publication,” said Chair Linda Asman, “and the History Society is now a publishing company for publishing local books. We sold over a thousand copies of our original book Through My Eyes: a Community History of Pembroke and Monkton, and the money has been used to set up a fund for publishing books of local interest. This has enabled us to entirely finance the publication of the Haggar history. Sales from this book will go into the fund to enable future publications so watch this space.”

Author Vicki Haggar was delighted with the response to the launch of her book.

“I wrote the book because my father Len owned the last Haggar cinema in Pembroke she explained. “It was an honour to him and to William Haggar to complete the story. It took a long time – about three years in all – but I am so happy that everyone has said they have enjoyed the launch this evening.”